Batman: The Brave and the Bold #17 – Michael W. Conrad, Zipporah Smith, Alex Segura, Troy Peteri, G. Willow Wilson, Writers; Miguel Mendonca/Christopher Mitten, Mike Norton, Andy MacDonald, David Baldeon, Jason Shawn Alexander, Artists; Mike Spicer, John Kalisz, Patricio Delpeche, Veronica Gandini, Lee Loughridge, Colorists
Ray – 9/10
Ray: There are five stories this issue, and all but one of them is a new one-shot or kick-off. So how do they play out this month?
First up is “What’s A Calendar?” by Conrad with Mendonca and Mitten sharing art duties. This full-length story is a classic Batman noir, bringing in one of his most underrated villains – Calendar Man. Julian Day has snapped and taken a group hostage. They all have one distinction – they’re leap day babies, and he’s decided they shouldn’t exist. The other distinction one of them has? He’s a Yakuza scion, and he has a private army coming to liberate. That leaves the GCPD (Bullock and new recruit Brooks) to try to negotiate with a madman, and Batman to try to get in and enforce a solution that leaves everyone alive. The tension in this story is through the roof, exactly how it should be, and it’s a great example of how to do a classic done-in-one Gotham story.
“Petsurrection” by Smith and Norton turns the focus on John Constantine, as he investigates a strange plague of resurrected, mutated zombie pets terrorizing their old owners. As he digs deeper into the phenomenon, he’s soon joined by an unlikely partner – Streaky the Supercat. This persistent feline is following John around, zapping monsters and giving him allergy attacks as John tries to shoo him away. It’s like a Silver Age tale – but much gorier and darker. Give us more of this team-up, thanks.
The third chapter of “Duality” by Segura and MacDonald, starring Renee Montoya, brings this twisted tale to a close as Renee faces the end of her tenure as Commissioner due to evidence tying her to The Question. A cameo from Vic Sage helps to clear her name, but a larger mystery is looming – who is targeting her? Segura pulls this back to an obscure old story from the early 2000s, with a forgotten sin from Harvey Bullock and a surprising twist that puts Renee in the ideal position for her role in an upcoming solo series.
“Downtime at the Diner” by Peteri and Baldeon finds Billy Batson joining Oliver Queen at a popular diner to commiserate after a hard day at superheroing/school. Billy’s just lost a friend due to bullies, while Ollie is looking to unwind, and they actually start to bond – until Clayface shows up to put together a team of new henchmen so he’ll be taken seriously. A very messy fight ensues, and while I’m not familiar with Peteri’s work, I have to say he perfectly nails the characterization of these two.
Finally, G. Willow Wilson and Jason Shawn Alexander bring down the curtain with “Bats Again: A Micro-Story”. At only two pages, it tells the story of Kirk Langstrom just not quite being able to stay away from Man-Bat, with a really funny last visual.
Overall, this might be one of the best issues of the run, especially given the first story.
To find reviews of all the DC issues, visit DC This Week.
GeekDad received this comic for review purposes.
